Shoe



Dec. 31, 1929. G, A. JONES 1,741,419

SHOE

Filed Dec. 17, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l n U817 #01- Ge01gA.J01z gsJzzsAziiir Patented Dec. 31, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE A.JONES, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SHOE PRODUCTS, INC., OF LYNN,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS SHOE The invention to behereinafter described relates to shoes, and more particularly to a shoeWhich is specially manufactured so that heel and metatarsal archsupporting cushions may be easily applied thereto.

Heretofore various devices have been applied to shoes for supporting themetatarsal arch of the foot, but so far as I am aware they have beenexpensive, diflicult to apply, and unsatisfactory. One of the purposesof the present invention, therefore, is to provide a shoe which is ofusual construction with the exception of a simple unobjectionable changetherein which enables heel and metatarsal arch supporting cushions oreither of them to be quickly and easily applied to the shoe.

The character of the invention may be best understood by reference-tothe following description of good forms thereof, shown in theaccompanyingdrawings, and the proc ess of manufacturing the same.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an insole having cushion locating andholding holes therein, and shows the slugs removed in punching theholes;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through a portion of a mans shoeembodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the heel cushion;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the metatarsal arch supporting cushion;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the shoe andshowing the heel and metatarsal arch supporting cushions applied to theinsole after removal of the slugs from the holes therein;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through a portion of a ladys turnedshoe embodying the invention;

Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively perspective views of a shank and a forepart filler; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through a portion of the shoe shown in Fig.6 and showing the heel and metatarsal arch supporting cushions appliedto the shank and fore part filler respectively after removal of theslugs from the holes therein.

Referring to the drawings, 1 (Fig. 1) desig- Divided and thisapplication filed December nates an insole having a hole 3 punched inthe heel portion of the insole and a hole 5 punched in the ball portionof the insole, said holes being of general oval form and produced bypunching out slugs 7 and 9 from the insole. These slugs are restored toor left in the holes in the insole, and may be held removably therein byWebs 11 and 13 of cloth or paper and having areas larger than the slugsand secured to the upper and lower surfaces of the insole by a suitableadhesive. The insole described above may be built into a shoe in theprocess of manufacturing the same. In this process the upper 15, counter17 and insole may be lasted in the usual manner, and then the outsolemay be applied. The hole in the heel portion of the insole is so locatedand of a size such that in punching the same it is directly above thecavity formed by the inturned margins 19 of the upper, counter andlining which are between the insole and the outsole. The hole in theball portion of the insole is of an area and location such that it is inaway from the inseam of the shoe. Thus the making of these holes in theinsole does not have any destructive effect upon or weaken the shoe.

The heel cushion may be substantially the same as that disclosed in mycopending applications Serial Nos. 156,927 and 156,928, both filedDecember 24:, 1926. It is made of high grade rubber and comprises adiaphragm 21 (Fig. 3) having a collar 23 projecting down from the bottomthereof and of oval shape and appropriate size to fit into the hole 3 inthe insole. The diaphragm is substantially larger than the hole and hasa marginal portion which rests upon the upper surface of the insolesurrounding the hole. The construction of this diaphragm is such thatwhen its collar is in the hole in the insole and the wearer of the shoeis walking, the diaphragm may flex up and down with pulsatile action,and will conform to the shape of the base of the heel of the wearer ofthe shoe. The oval shape of the hole and the collar of the cushion willprevent the diaphragm from turning out of its normal proper position.Also the collar in the hole will prevent any shifting of the diaphragmlongitudinally or transversely of the insole.

The metatarsal arch supporting cushion may be substantially the same asdisclosed in said application Serial No. 156,927. It is made of highgrade rubber and comprises a diaphragm 25 (Fig. 4) having a collar 27projecting down from the bottom thereof, said collar being of oval formand of proper size to-fit into the hole 5 in the ball portion of theinsole. Projecting up from the diaphragm is a protuberance 29 (Fig. 5)which is suitably formed to furnish the proper sup port for themetatarsal arch of the foot. The diaphragm has a margin of substantial.area which rests upon the upper surface of the insole. Vhen the weareris walking, the diaphragm and its protuberance are adapted to flex upand down with pulsatile action which will operate desirably to exerciseand strengthen muscles of the foot and restore them to normal healthycondition, so that they will properly support the metatarsal arch of thefoot.

The oval shape of the collar 23 of the arch supporting cushion and theoval shape of the hole 5 in the insole will prevent dislocation of thecushion from its proper position. It cannot shift longitudinally ortransversely of the insole, and it cannot turn.

By my invention a shoe is provided of usual construction with theeXception that the slugs are punched from the insole and left andsecured therein so that to outward ap pearances the shoe is notdifferent from the ordinary shoe. Shoes thus manufactured and suppliedto retailers will be in readiness toreceive the heel and metatarsal archsupporting cushions if a customer so desires.

n applying these cushions it is merely necessary to remove the slugsfrom the holes in the insole, present the heel and metatarsal archsupporting cushions to the insole and insert their collars into theholes. These are simple operations quickly and easily accomplished. Thehole is so located in the ball portion of the insole that if a person isfitted with a shoe of correct size, the metatarsal arch supportingcushion will be properly located to furnish the desired support for thearch.

A shoe provided with these cushions can be worn as an ordinary shoe,since they do notproject into and occupy the space originally designedto receive the foot.

Goodyear welt, McKay, turned shoes and other types of shoes may beprepared to embody the presentinvention, in order that they may beadapted to receive the cushions described.

Referring now more particularly to Figs; 6 to 9, a ladys turned shoe isshown therein and comprises the upper 31, sole 33, heel 35,

shank 37 and. fore part filler The shank and the fore part filler havemating feathered ends 4:1and 13 which may be secured together by astaple. The hole 45 is made in the shank to receive the heel cushion,and the hole 47 is made in the fore part filler to receive themetatarsal arch supporting cushion. The shank and the fore part fillerpreferably have the holes punched therein before they are built into theshoe. The slugs 4-9 and 51 which are punched out in producing the shankhole and fore part filler hole, are left in their holes and areremovably held therein by webs 53 and 55 of cloth or paper and havingareas larger than the slugs and secured to the upper and lower surfacesof the shank and filler by suitable adhesive.

The cushions for application to the shank and the fore part filler maybe similar to those described for the mans shoe, with the exception thatthe heel cushion necessarily would be made smaller and preferably itscollar is of the same size as the collar of the metatarsal arch cushion.The holes 15 and 1-7 for receiving the collars preferably are made ofthe same size.

If the ladys shoe is constructed with a full length filler, it would besimilar to the insole shown in Fig. 1, but shaped appropriately for aladys shoe.

This application is a division from my application Serial No.- 164,465,filed January 29,1927, claiming the process disclosed herein, saidapplication having resulted in Letters Patent No. 1,675,711, dated July3, 1928.

The term insole employed in the claims is also to be regarded as genericto a full length filler and to a shank and fore part filler. v

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to theembodiment shown and that various deviations may be made therefromwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

As an article of manufacture, a shoe comprising an upper, counter,insole, outsole and heel, said insole having cushion locating andholding holes punched therethrough at the heel and ball portions of theinsole, the hole at the heel portion being within the inturned marginsof the upper and counter, and the hole at the ball portion being in fromthe inseam, and readily removable slugs in said holes, above the outsoleand having upper surfaces flush with the upper surface of the insole,said slugs being adapted to be removed that heel and metatarsal archsupporting cushions may be applied to said holes.

GEORGE A. JONES.

